5/5 stars. I am a complete novice at pilates (had literally never done it before) and booked Serene for 4 sessions. She is a great teacher: she was able to start me with some mat exercises that translated very well onto the reformer. While I'm still a novice, I now at least feel like I have a sense of what I am doing! Serene has deep expertise and experience. Her form tips & corrections were perfect and very helpful. And her attitude and energy are super positive. If you are looking for any kind of pilates or other personal training, I can't recommend Serene highly enough! read more

Six stars. Serene is extraordinary. My wife and I have been working with her for three years and she has changed our lives. She combines unusually deep subject matter expertise with terrific positive motivation and loads of kindness. Every strength and pilates session consists of infinite combinations of mobility, flexibility and strength and she is always incorporating what we need in terms of current fitness goals or injury recovery. She also works with my 88-year old mom! Truly a gem. read more

Serene is the BEST! We have worked together both before and during the pandemic - and every session has always been top notch. She is warm, thoughtful, kind and knowledgeable. My strength and stamina have dramatically improved since we began our sessions in 2019. Serene's style is super encouraging and empowering - I recommend her to anyone looking to enhance their fitness routine! read more

I've been working with Serene since early 2016. I had initially been looking for a Pilates instructor for my mom who was visiting and needed some motivation to start exercising again. My mom was really concerned with finding a trainer that would work with her at a slow enough pace, as she'd been pushed too hard in the past and ended up quitting because the workouts were too intense. I had the opposite issue with Pilates in the past, the classes seemed too easy and not enough of a workout. I went to the first couple workouts with the intention of providing some moral support for my mom, but not really expecting to get a great workout. Serene did a great job keeping my mom motivated, but also gave me my first real workout in Pilates! I've now been her client for a year and a half. Serene has worked with me to create a Pilates and weight-lifting routine, which she keeps track of and schedules for me using a phone app. I track my progress with weights and repetitions, and she adjusts the routines based on my progress. The combination of Pilates lessons and weightlifting has really helped me get in great shape and much, much stronger. I have a pretty bad back and I feel stronger than ever thanks to the work I've been doing with Serene. I am way more confident with my strength and I'm not constantly worried about throwing out my back anymore. I highly recommend Serene! read more

Serene is the best. I've had a variety of personal trainers in the area over the last 8 years, and I was skeptical of Pilates, but now I can't live without it. She has helped me increase my core strength, and has helped me work through injury and pain. Her location in downtown Palo Alto is also a huge plus - super convenient and clean and new. You will definitely get a great workout, and she has an amazing ability to tailor her workout to your needs. read more

I've been attending the Sunday Mat Pilates class for the last 3 weeks and absolutely love it! Class is always a little different and is both challenging and relaxing at the same time. Like Ana said - class is doable, but I feel it for the next couple of days. Serene is a great instructor and very motivating. She'll help you get through the 'side-series' with a smile on your face! It's a great way to start your Sunday! read more

Serene is one of the best trainers in Palo Alto. She helped me bring awareness to my lower abdominals and outer glutes which has improved my sciatic nerve pain. She also has a very warm personality which would make anyone feel right at home. Strongly recommend! read more

I've not been big on Pilates in the past, but I am now. Serena really seems to know her stuff. it's amazing how much we can work our core muscles with such simple postures and movements. read more

Serene is the best! I've been working with her one-on-one for about a year now, and I have learned so much about Pilates, and about my own body. Her attention to detail, positive attitude, and encouraging cues make working with her an absolute pleasure. She has a great intuition for what she does and gently encourages her clients to work just outside their comfort zones. I could not recommend a better person for Pilates instruction. read more

I'm not an exercise class kind of person. I swim, ski, golf, and hike but organized classes, no way! After turning 50 last year it dawned on me that my sports and overall well-being could be improved with more flexibility and balance so I decided to give a mat Pilates class a try. I couldn't be more impressed with the class. Serene checks in with everyone to see how their body is feeling or what we want to work on and adjusts accordingly. Our class ranges from new moms, people like me, yoga/pilates enthusiasts, to seniors with various joint replacements. She makes it work for everyone. No one gets hurt, but no one gets off easy. Personally, I've gone from barely being able to reach the middle of my shins with my legs straight to being able to place my palms on the floor in about 5 months of going 2x per week. I'm still working on plenty of other tight areas, but already the increased core strength, overall flexibility, and improved balance have taken my swimming and golf to a new level. I can't wait for ski season!! read more

I have been working with Serene for a year. She is fantastic!! Her personalized program has benefited me greatly. She understands my physical condition and works to strengthen my weak points. She is very attentive when we are working together and we also have some fun ;-) I highly recommend her. read more

love all her sessions at Moffet Club, Sunnyvale. The best instructor I've had so far. Feel refreshed and agile after each class. Thank you Serene. read more

Serene is fabulous! She came to do Pilates to our group of senior scholars at Stanford. She is knowledgeable, enthusiastic, encouraging, personal with corrections, advice and information. I am a physician and I was impressed with her anatomic and physiologic expertise and her ability to tailor the sessions to individual needs and desires. She's just the BEST. read more

Had an amazing Pilates class in San Veron park today with Serene. I haven't done much Pilates before, but I do have reasonably strong abs and legs because of the other exercises I do. Still, I could feel the burning sensation in my muscles during class. I guess with Pilates, regardless of your fitness level, you can always benefit from it. And I also found out I am a bit weaker with certain poses since they use muscle groups I don't normally use in my other exercises, which makes Pilates a good addition to cover those ignored areas. Serene is really fun to workout with, I love how she goes around to help everyone correct their poses and pushes us just a bit further than we probably willing to go on our own :) read more

I'm currently taking private Pilates classes with Serene (owner of U Strive Pilates), and she's so great that it's hard to know where to start. First and foremost she is an excellent Pilates teacher and is incredibly knowledgeable. She is excellent at explaining, and helping, how to get your body in the right form. She is also really great at cueing you as you go through a specific sequence, and--this is so important in Pilates--using different analogies to get the student in the right position. If one explanation doesn't click, she seems to have endless ideas on how to explain different positions. She is so warm, friendly, and kind. She gives you an incredible workout, and is very motivating and always positive and encouraging. I am so happy that I found her! read more

I couldn't recommend Serene more. When I left NYC, I thought I would never find a great instructor again and I tried several other studios until I found Serene (who is actually a better teacher than my original instructor in NYC.) Things that make Serene unique: 1) she's very personable and easy to chat with. 2) she's very patient and meticulous - really takes the time to train you on the correct positions. 3) That's not to say that her classes are not fast-paced and challenging though... I've got lots of long/lean muscles after 3 months working with her! read more

When my semi-private class at a different studio ended in early December, I needed to find another studio to maintain training over the holidays and decided to give Serene a try. I'm impressed with her knowledge of kinesiology and her ability to cue the movement sequence she wants. She is patient and meticulous. The one-hour sessions are well-structured and challenging. Highly recommended. read more

Serene offers so much to her clients! She is a talented professional with truly encyclopedic knowledge of physiology and anatomy. In addition, she is a caring and sensitive trainer/coach with a genius for motivation. What more could anyone want? read more

Why would anyone want to get up at 5:30am and come to the gym to do Pilates unless it is really rewarding, fun, and productive? This is what I do three days a week - two of them to do Pilates under Serene's truly expert tutelage. I have only been doing Pilates with her since mid-October 2016 but she has made an enormous difference already. I am far more flexible than I used to be, I have lost weight and my body just feels better. The Pilates has also made an enormous difference to my golf game. Not only am I swinging the club better but I feel so much better after playing. Serene is a wonderful person. She is tough when it comes to making sure the workout is rigorous but she loves to laugh and have fun at the same time. She also varies things from workout to workout so you never feel like you are in a rut or getting stale. Serene is also very responsive in how she structures the workouts. If I am having a little problem with aches and pains she will focus part of the sessions around treating those symptoms until they are gone. This has been enormously helpful. Finally, Serene is really helpful with scheduling and always try to accommodate me if I have to deviate from our usual schedule. Quite simply, Serene is a true professional and a fantastic Pilates instructor in every way. read more

Serene is an A+ instructor. Absolutely the best! She visits us each week for team pilates at our office and is a welcome guest who kicks our butt every time-- cheering us on as we go. She teaches a challenging class, adjusts to our energy or capability level when needed, and is very knowledgeable about the body and pilates practice. Serene is wonderful-- so sweet and fun. She makes class fly by! She leaves us well worked and feeling great. We unreservedly recommend her! read more

I've been practicing Pilates for several years in the past, in several studios, and after a 3-years break I recently started practicing with Serene at her private studio in Mountain View. What an awesome experience! Serene is a highly professional, capable, patient, and caring instructor. Every session with Serene is comprehensive (full body workout) and challenging, but at the same time very safe and never over-straining. She has a very wide perspective on various Pilates techniques and other methodologies (such as Yoga), and she does an amazing job in explaining the different positions and series. One great thing that stands out for me about Serene is that there's never a boring routine - every session there's a new set of exercises and incremental raising of the bar. It's amazing how just a single hour a week with Serene has such a noticeable on my body. The whole Pilates experience with Serene is enjoying and rewarding: the studio is great - rather on the small size but well equipped and in perfect condition; the location is convenient, the price is very reasonable for a private lesson, the sessions last a full hour, and Serene is extremely friendly, personal, and hard-working. After practicing with about 10-15 instructors in the past, I can say that Serene is one of the best that I had and I whole-heartedly recommend practicing Pilates at her studio. read more

I have never been here and I don't even do pilates, but if Serene is training me, I just might. Yowza.

Serene is hands down the best pilates mat instructor I've ever had. She knows exactly what she is doing, gives individual attention, and is a great and kind motivator. First class all around! read more

I was brand new to Pilates when I started at U Strive Pilates in July 2014. I arrived at the private studio, which is bright, clean and conveniently located in Mountain View. I was a bit nervous - I wasn't sure what to expect and Serene, the owner/instructor, immediately made me feel comfortable. We chatted some about my goals and then started my first session. I had no idea what I was doing and Serene explained everything as we went along. I was a little surprised at how easy the workout seemed; I barely worked up a sweat but the next day I was feeling muscles I didn't even know I had! Serene is an excellent instructor - she is so inspirational and is always so positive, supportive and patient with me, which is appreciated because I still consider myself a novice (and I'm very un-coordinated!). Serene is very attentive, making sure that my form is correct to ensure I'm achieving maximum results from each series. Her sessions last a full hour (which flies by!) and vary from session to session, which keeps it fresh and interesting. I would recommend Serene without hesitation to anyone who is looking for a new instructor. read more

Awesome class on Sunday at the park. Serene focus' a lot of work on our core which is where I need it. Last week she brought some equipment that brought a new dimension to the workout. This class is a great follow up to my Saturday cross-fit training. Thanks Serene! read more